


Sinner Like You

by 50shadesofsubtext



Series: SPN AU and Trope Bingo [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Fluff, M/M, Romantic Fluff, SPN AU Bingo, Single Parent Castiel, Single Parent Dean Winchester, Single Parents, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 01:37:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13020522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50shadesofsubtext/pseuds/50shadesofsubtext
Summary: Emma was in another fight at school, but this guy totally deserved it. Luckily, Castiel agrees.Fill for my SPN AU and Trope Bingo for the square Single Parent!au.





	Sinner Like You

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from Parson James’ song of the same name.

Bobby waved to Dean from the window in his office. Dean nodded and closed the hood of the Pontiac he was working on, wiping his hands on the rag in his back pocket. It didn’t get all the motor oil off, but it worked for now.

“What can I do for you boss?” Dean asked as he entered the white-brick office. Bobby wordlessly handed him the phone.

“Hello?” He said into the mouthpiece.

“Mr. Winchester? This is Mrs. Rosen from Emma’s school. She was in a fight today, and we need you to pick her up.”

Dean sighed, “Another one? I don’t know what picking her up will do, it didn’t work the last few times.”

“I understand the hesitation, Mr. Winchester. The principal would like to set down and have a meeting with you when you get here.”

Dean looked up and Bobby, and he nodded, “Just finish up later.”

“I’ll be there in ten,” he said into the mouthpiece before hanging up.

He jumped into him impala, engine roaring to life under him. Emma was waiting outside the office with a split lip and surly attitude. Dean patted her shoulder as he walked into the office and Mrs. Rosen escorted him to the principal's office. Mr. Henrikson was a stern, tough-looking man and Dean knew from their interactions that he saw the world in black and white. There was no way he would let Emma off.

Another man that Dean didn’t recognize was setting in the office. He was attractive, dressed in a slightly rumpled suit and perpetual bedhead.

“Mr. Winchester,” Henriksen extended his hand over the desk, “please take a seat. This is Castiel Novak. His daughter, Claire, was in the fight today too.”

Dean resisted groaning out loud. Talks like this usually involved apologies and plans for reforms as though Dean could make Emma stop. He was not in the mood for discussing Emma’s life with a stranger.

Dean smiled and tried to act polite, waiting for the moment he could take Emma out of the school. “I hope she wasn’t hurt. Emma has a wicked right hook.”

Castiel smiled politely, “She will be fine.”

Henriksen cleared his throat. “Gentlemen, your daughters were not fighting each other. It seems they have teamed up to terrorize other students at the school.”

Dean was surprised by the news, and judging by Castiel’s intake of breath, he was too. Emma never really made friends. “Together?” Dean asked just as Castiel asked, “Terrorize?”

Henriksen nodded. “According to the teachers, your daughters are inseparable. They fight with many of the other students and make classroom learning nearly impossible.”

“That can’t be right,” Castiel said as Dean nodded with him. “Claire is a good kid. Did you get her side of the story?”

Henriksen frowned, “They wouldn’t talk, either of them.”

“So they are in trouble?” Dean asked.

“I’m giving them a two-day suspension each, but if things don’t turn around soon, I will have to take more drastic measures.”

“We’ll talk to them,” Dean promised as he stood. Castiel nodded in agreement.

When they left the office, Dean saw another girl sitting next to Emma, blond ringlets falling past her shoulders. The girls were pressed close together, and Emma’s head rested on the blond’s shoulder.

When they opened the door, the girls jumped apart. Dean walked in front of Emma, “You want to talk now or do you want to talk at home?”

Emma bit a lip and glanced at the other girl. It must be Claire. When she didn’t answer, Castiel jumped in. “Dean, perhaps we should talk to them together. I know a restaurant a few blocks away.”

Dean didn’t want to drag out the talking, but he was always down for food, and he knew Emma might talk if her guard was down. He glanced down at his daughter who shrugged. Dean took it as a yes. “Yeah, sure. I’ll follow you.”

The car was silent during the ride, and when they got to the small diner, the only words the group spoke were placing their orders. Dean gave Castiel a meaningful look, questioning who should start talking, but Castiel waved him off with a shake of his head. Dean didn’t want to feel like they were building tension, but he didn’t want to force Emma to talk. It was nice that they waited to discuss what happened because it gave him time to calm down and think about what he wanted to say.

Dean had never been in the diner Castiel before, but he wished he’d known about it sooner. When the hamburger came out, it was piled high and was surrounded by a sea of steak fries. Dean’s mouth watered and the delicious smell emanating from the food.

He was a few bites in when Castiel paused and asked, “Would either of you like to talk now?”

Emma looked down at her food, steadfast and stubborn like her dad, and Claire gave her a sad look before saying quietly, “It wasn’t our fault.”

Castiel smiled at his daughter and rested a hand on her shoulder. “I didn’t think it was.”

Emma looked up slowly as if she was surprised by the support Claire received. It broke Dean’s heart. Lydia was so much better at communication with Emma, but since her death, Emma shut herself off and nearly stopped talking. She had taken Lydia's death hard, understandably, and he had no idea how to help her.

Claire gave Emma a pleading look as if she was begging her to come clean. Dean put as much sympathy and softness into his voice as he could and asked, “Em, you want to tell me what’s going on?”

She looked nervous, and Claire, perhaps as an attempt to encourage her said, “He was a jerk. He deserved what he got.”

Dean took a breath and put his arm around Emma’s shoulder. “You can tell me kiddo. I don’t know how to help you until I know what’s going on.”

Emma shuddered and nuzzled into Dean’s neck. “He called us dykes.” Her voice wasn’t much louder than a whisper, but Claire smiled like a proud parent at the words.

It clicked then, the way Emma and Claire were so close, the way they smiled at each other like the other one hung the moon, the way Henriksen said they were inseparable like it was a problem they needed to solve. Claire and Emma were dating.

Dean wasn’t sure what to think. He still thought of his daughter as a little girl. It seemed like just yesterday that they brought her home from the hospital. It sometimes blew his mind how fast she was growing up and becoming her own person.

He took a breath when he realized everyone at the table was waiting for his response. He squeezed Emma's shoulder a little. “Sounds like he deserved a good punch to the face.”

“Really?” Emma smiled up at him like he just told her she won the lottery and sat up straighter.

“Really. I hate jerks like that.”

Emma hugged Dean and gave Claire a blinding smile that the other girl returned. Dean didn’t miss their fingers scooting across the table toward each other.

He smiled at Castiel as if daring him to say anything, but Castiel just nodded and picked up his burger again.

He had wondered before if he should tell Emma about the boyfriends he had through the years, the men he dated when she stayed at her mother’s house. It just never felt like the right time and nothing was permanent enough to do a meet the family.

As they ate their meals, they talked about each other’s families. Castiel lost his wife a few years ago, and Emma and Claire met when they were both suffering through the loss of their mothers. It gave them something to connect over. That was about all the conversation the girls could sit through, and as soon as the girls finished their food, they asked for money to turn on the jukebox sitting in the corner.

Dean and Castiel both forked over a couple of bucks, and when the girls left their table, Castiel turned to face Dean. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“For Lydia? Thanks, but it wasn’t the same as your wife.”

“What do you mean?” Castiel leaned forward with his on his elbows on the table and peered at Dean curiously.

“She was great, don’t get me wrong, but Emma was the product of a drunken one-night stand after high school graduation. Instead of trying to make a relationship out of it, we split custody.”

Castiel tilted his head to the side, and Dean smiled at how cute that was. “You were not close?”

“Oh, no, we were. We became great friends over the years. When she died, God, it was like a knife to the heart.” Dean wasn’t sure where the tears in his eyes came from.

Castiel’s hand rested over his. “Have you talked about this at all?” Dean shook his head and pulled his hand away to wipe the tears, trying to push the feelings back down. Castiel let him. “Did you ever think about marrying her?’

Dean smiled, “No. I was great at dating, bringing people back to my place for a night, but I was never cut out for anything long-term. Especially not with her.”

“Too good of friends?” Castiel asked trying to understand.

“No, I’m uh, I’m gay.”

Castiel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but then he smiled. “Emma is lucky to have someone that understands her.”

Dean turned his eyes away and looked to where Claire and Emma were doing some crazy variation of a swing dance to the music. “Did you know about them?”

“I knew about Claire. She told me she was interested in girls almost a year ago now. I didn’t know about Emma though. I guess she was trying to keep her confidence.”

Dean nodded, “She seems like a good kid.”

“Emma too.” Dean met Castiel’s eye and held it for what seemed like too long to be friendly.

“Perhaps,” Castiel said after a few minutes, “you and Emma would like to come over for dinner tomorrow?”

Dean smiled and nodded, just becoming aware of the way Castiel’s foot moved against his, and his fingertips were close enough to touch if Dean stretched his hand. “That sounds great Cas.”

Castiel smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Great! I guess I should get your number and send you the address.”

Dean smiled and pulled his phone out, sliding it across the table. After they exchanged numbers, they watched the girls dancing in the corner, laughing at how happy they seemed. And when Castiel’s fingers brushed up against his, Dean didn’t pull away.


End file.
